In 2003, on the eve of the Iraq war, acclaimed filmmaker Iara Lee embarked on a journey to better understand a world increasingly embroiled in conflict and, as she saw it, heading for self-destruction. After several years, traveling over five continents, Iara encountered growing numbers of people who committed their lives to promoting change.
From Iran, where graffiti and rap became tools in fighting government repression, to Burma, where monks acting in the tradition of Gandhi take on a dictatorship, moving on to Brazil, where musicians reach out to slum kids and transform guns into guitars, and ending in Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon, where photography, music, and film have given a voice to those rarely heard, Cultures of Resistance explores how art and creativity can be ammunition in the battle for peace and justice.
Does each gesture really make a difference? Can music and dance be weapons of peace? Director Iara Lee embarked on a two-year, five-continent trek to find out. From MALI, where the music of Tuareg resistance rises from the desert, to BURMA, where monks acting in the tradition of Gandhi take on a dictatorship, moving on to BRAZIL, where musicians reach out to slum kids and transform guns into guitars, and ending in PALESTINIAN refugee camps in LEBANON, where photography, music, and film have given a voice to those rarely heard, CULTURES OF RESISTANCE explores how art and creativity can be the ammunition in the battle for peace and justice.
Featuring: Medellín poets for peace, Capoeira masters from Brazil, Niger Delta militants, Iranian graffiti artists, women’s movement leaders in Rwanda, Lebanon’s refugee filmmakers, U.S. political pranksters, Argentina’s Madres de Plaza de Mayo, indigenous Kayapó activists from the Xingu, Israeli dissidents, hip-hop artists from Palestine, and many more…
“Only around eight shacks, with about 35 families, were moved from this site,” says the community leader, pointing to a yellow outcrop of mine sludge, where Professor Chris Busby, a world expert in uranium, in December found radiation levels inside a shack 15 times higher than regulatory limits. “These people are lying if they say they’ve moved everybody. We’re still here, living in poor conditions.”Hundreds of shacks, and thousands of people, remain in Tudor Shaft. “Look there,” says a dismayed Mariette Liefferink, an environmental activist, as she gestures to a group of children playing on the site where Busby took his radioactivity readings. “Children continue to play on that site (where the shacks were removed),” says Liefferink. “Many are barefoot. What has happened here is not sufficient. People are still living on the tailings, on unsafe land… It’s a really desperate situation.” (Independent Online Nov. 15, 2011)“ “The doses calculated for “realistic” exposure pathways range over four orders of magnitude from about 0.01 mSv to 138 mSv per annum. For approximately 50% of the 47 sampling sites, the calculated incremental doses of the respective critical group are above 1 mSv per annum.”“The newspaper said tests on asparagus, oats and onions produced in the Gerhard Minne wetlands showed that the level of radioactive substances was three times higher than the safe permissible level for human consumption.”“The residue from gold extraction contains uranium,” says the head of the Federation for a Sustainable Environment (FSE), a local environmental organization. By looking at recent analyses, these dump sites also contain, amongst other things, “aluminum, arsenic, mercury and copper,”“South Africa’s National Nuclear Regulator (NNR) recognized, in 2011, that there was a “potentially dangerous situation” and recommended that the residents be “re-housed to a more hospitable environment.”““Before the judge’s final decision, the radioactive dump sites have been surrounded by a plastic security cordon, to prevent children from coming too close. “This land is dangerous; it could make my child sick,” says 20-year-old Poppy Morebondi. But when we asked her if she knew what “radioactivity” meant, like many of the other residents, she shook her head.”“Meat, fish, milk, maize and other crops produced near Wonderfontein Spruit in Gauteng are probably harmful to people as they are seriously contaminated by, among others, radioactive pollutants. This pollution, resulting from overflow from sludge dams during 100 years of mining, affects the area between Randfontein and Potchefstroom, where more than 400,000 people live. International experts say people who eat or drink these products could suffer liver or kidney failure or get cancer. It could also hamper children’s growth and cause mental disability. “
POOR SOUTH AFRICANS LIVING ON TOXIC REMAINS OF DEFUNCT GOLD MINES
By Sébastien Hervieu LE MONDE/WorldcrunchPublished on 2012-11-15 23:10:12
MOGALE CITY – Patience Pumlangadu’s black skin is now a yellowish color. “I put this powder on my face to protect it from the sun,” explains the South African mother of three.
Pumlangadu makes this sun protection herself by mixing water with bits of crushed rock she says are “good for your health.”
But in fact these rocks come from a nearby mound of earth, made up of waste from an old gold mine. It was at the end of 2010, a British specialist, Chris Busby, found that the level of radioactivity here was 15 times higher than normal, and recommended that the residents of the township evacuate as soon as possible.
Situated in the municipality of Mogale City, this informal settlement with a population of 5,000, named Tudor Shaft, is just down the road from one of countless radioactive dumps that dot the horizon in theregion of Johannesburg. For more than a century, the mines of Egoli, “the golden city” in Zulu, have allowed South Africa to become the top economic power on the African continent. However, it has left behind numerous toxic footprints.
In 2011, a report by the regional authorities of Gauteng, the area that surrounds South Africa’s economic capital Johannesburg, confirmed that 1.6 million people were living in townships near to, or even in, one of the 400 zones marked affected by mining waste.
The nuclear industry and its supporters pounced on Merkel’s decision. They predicted blackouts on a scale Germany hadn’t experienced since World War II and skyrocketing electricity prices that would wreck the nation’s heavy manufacturing sector, the bedrock of the German economy. They warned that Germany would cease to be an energy exporter and be forced to import electricity from, of all places, French nuclear power plants. Utilities would have to burn more coal to make up for the lost nuclear power, they said, pumping huge amounts of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. The British weekly The Economist branded Merkel’s action “a lunatic gamble.”
More than a year and a half later, however, those dire predictions haven’t materialized.
”You have to choose between the old system and the new one. And we have chosen renewables.”
Germany Abandons Nuclear Power and Lives to Talk About It, Bloomberg Business Week By Osha Gray Davidson November 16, 2012“……..Like all revolutions, the German Energiewende was set in motion by many factors and its course altered by a multitude of events and actors along the way. A few key moments stand out, however, and the Chernobyl catastrophe is one of them. To fully understand the Energiewende, and to anticipate its future twists and turns, it’s essential to understand the role Chernobyl played in shaping the German public’s view of nuclear power. Continue reading →
Madras HC dismisses plea for holding public meetings in Kudankulam http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report_madras-hc-dismisses-plea-for-holding-public-meetings-in-kudankulam_1765500, Nov 16, 2012,Chennai ANI The Madras High Court on Friday dismissed petitions which sought to declare the clamping of ban orders under Section 144 (1) of CrPC in Kudankulam as null and void.
It also refused to grant permission for conducting a public meeting to highlight demands against commissioning of the nuclear power plant. Continue reading →
Hold out a hand to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. Stop with the “pinpoint assassinations” and look into the civilians’ eyes on the other side as well.
A message to Israel’s leaders: Don’t defend me – not like thishttp://www.haaretz.com/opinion/a-message-to-israel-s-leaders-don-t-defend-me-not-like-this.premium-1.478105 As she listens to the rockets raining in her yard, a resident of Kibbutz Kfar Aza asks the government to rethink its Gaza mission. By Michal Vasser | Nov.15, 2012 The first thing I want to say is: Please don’t defend me. Not like this. Continue reading →
A mountain trout caught in a Fukushima Prefecture river [Niida River in Minamisoma city] returned a radioactive cesium reading of 11,400 becquerels per kilogram, more than 100 times the government-set limit for food items, a survey by the Environment Ministry said Friday. […]
Al Gore: nuclear power will play ‘limited role’ in future energy mix Former vice-president says cost of nuclear power is ‘absurdly high and still rising’ The Guardian 16 Nov 12 Nuclear power will only play a limited role in the world’s energy future because of its “absurdly high” cost, Al Gore said on Thursday.
Despite several countries, including the US, UK and China, pushing forward with plans for new nuclear reactors, the former vice-president said the economics of nuclear meant that it was unlikely to play a major role….. he said that while nuclear was expensive, renewable energy technologies were fast becoming cheaper. “Meanwhile, solar PV [photovoltaics] is riding a ‘Moore’s Law Jr’ costdown curve. Wind and efficiency too, though not as steep. We need to get to scale on renewables quickly and make the transition.” Continue reading →
Recommend that you go to this link, as the page has many very informative graphics.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2012/nov/16/nuclear-waste-sellafield How much do we spend on nuclear waste?Duncan Clark guardian.co.uk, 16 November 2012Last week, a new report by the National Audit Office (NAO)highlighted the spiralling costs of running Sellafield, the UK’s huge nuclear
reprocessing and storage site. Duncan Clark reviews the data Continue reading →
–The Next Fukushima is Ready & Waiting. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V1SUCTqlw6Q&feature=player_embedded#t=88sNov 15, 2012Kevin Kamps, Beyond Nuclear, joins Thom Hartmann. You would think Japan would do everything it could to avoid another nuclear disaster – but you’d be wrong. What’s the latest news coming out of Japan right now – and has America learned anything from the Fukushima devastation?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xkXt93-Qghw&feature=my_liked_videos&li…
The ridiculous mascot Japan is using to warn children not to walk in radioactive puddles, etc, is named Kibitan. Absolutely ridiculous! Meaning:
causing or worthy of ridicule or derision; absurd; preposterous; laughable: a ridiculous plan.
New camera shows radiation levels
Japan’s space agency and a leading machinery maker have developed a camera for use at the crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant. The device is designed to help in cleaning up leaked radioactive materials.
The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency and Mitsubishi Heavy Industry unveiled a prototype of the camera on Thursday. The device has a sensor for high radiation.
The camera shows levels of radioactivity on a monitor in red, yellow or green for different levels of contamination.
Newspaper: “Disturbing risks” have emerged at NJ’s Oyster Creek nuke plant after Sandy — Reactor may be decommissioned early November 16th, 2012 By ENENews Title: Reactor requires objective review Source: The Asbury Park Press Date: Nov 15, 2012
Largely lost amid people’s concerns about the loss of electrical power, flooding and worse during and after superstorm Sandy was the potential for another even worse disaster at the Oyster Creek nuclear reactor in Lacey.
[…] Now, two new disturbing risks have surfaced in recent days: the plant’s vulnerability to a possible Fukushima-like meltdown and fatigue cracks that have been detected in the reactor vessel.
[…] the state should conduct its own independent analysis of the response and the newly discovered cracks in the reactor […]
The initiative, if passed by the people in a nationwide vote, would require the closing of Beznau I, Switzerland’s oldest nuclear power plant, within one year of the vote.
Public set to vote on phasing out nuclear power, SwissInfo.ch, 16 Nov 12, Members of the Green Party deliver signatures for the initiative to phase out atomic energy (Keystone) The Green Party has collected 109,000 signatures in support of a people’s initiative that would require caps on the lifetimes of existing nuclear power plants in Switzerland and a ban on the construction of new ones. Continue reading →
Oyster Creek is a boiling water reactor, the same type as those at the ill-fated Fukushima Daiichi in Japan. Its spent fuel pool is on top of the reactor and both are in the same containment building.
NRC probes Oyster Creek’s Hurricane Sandy response , 15 NOVEMBER 2012 BY ROGER WITHERSPOON NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COMFederal regulators have launched a special probe to determine if officials at the Oyster Creek nuclear power violated rules and waited too long to declare an emergency alert as rising waters threatened critical reactors systems. Continue reading →
Now that means, to me it means they know about a tear or a rip in the spent fuel pool liner.
And they don’t come out and say — a lot of this stuff you have to read between the lines — there’s something called ‘curing material’ […] what it means to me is they tried to repair with some sort of epoxy and something that needs to cure or cure time on it before they can proceed. Which means that water’s actually being held in not by the stainless steel liner, but by the concrete structure around, that’s not really a great situation to be in.
Large crowd calls for closure of uranium plant, Inside Toronto, 17 Nov 12 The GE-Hitachi facility at 1025 Lansdowne Ave. presses uranium powder into the pellets used to power Ontario’s nuclear reactors. The plant releases tiny amounts of radiation into the air and water each year …by Lisa Rainford
Following a march from the GE-Hitachi uranium plant at Lansdowne Avenue and Dupont Street, a capacity crowd of protesters filled the Davenport-Perth Neighbourhood Centre sanctuary for what organizers are calling the first of many meetings to come about the nuclear facility.
Decked out in costume, the “Raging Grannies,” a group of older women who use song to protest and raise awareness of environmental and social justice issues, kicked off the Nov. 15 meeting that brought out local politicians from all levels of government, as well as several guest experts. “If you love your neighbourhood, no uranium… Kick GE out for good, no uranium,” sang the trio to rousing applause.
Facilitated by the Ontario Clean Air Alliance’s Angela Bischoff, the meeting brought together a host of speakers, Continue reading →
2 statewide groups back Va. uranium ban, CBS News 16 Nov 12 RICHMOND, Va. — Two groupsrepresenting hundreds of Virginia cities, counties and towns are recommending that the General Assembly keep a 30-year ban on uranium mining in place. Continue reading →
Germany Abandons Nuclear Power and Lives to Talk About It, Bloomberg Business Week By Osha Gray Davidson November 16, 2012“……..Like all revolutions, the German Energiewende was set in motion by many factors and its course altered by a multitude of events and actors along the way. A few key moments stand out, however, and the Chernobyl catastrophe is one of them. To fully understand the Energiewende, and to anticipate its future twists and turns, it’s essential to understand the role Chernobyl played in shaping the German public’s view of nuclear power. Continue reading 
Madras HC dismisses plea for holding public meetings in 
Kudankulam
Hold out a hand to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. Stop with the “pinpoint assassinations” and look into the civilians’ eyes on the other side as well.
this http://www.haaretz.com/opinion/a-message-to-israel-s-leaders-don-t-defend-me-not-like-this.premium-1.478105 As she listens to the rockets raining in her yard, a resident of Kibbutz Kfar Aza asks the government to rethink its Gaza mission. By Michal Vasser | Nov.15, 2012 The first thing I want to say is: Please don’t defend me. Not like this. Continue reading 
Kyodo: Radioactive trout over 100 times gov’t limit caught in Fukushima river http://enenews.com/kyodo-radioactive-trout-over-100-times-govt-limit-caught-in-fukushima-river November 16th, 2012
Al Gore: nuclear power will play ‘limited role’ in future energy mix Former vice-president says cost of nuclear power is ‘absurdly high and still rising’ The Guardian 16 Nov 12 Nuclear power will only play a limited role in the world’s energy future because of its “absurdly high” cost, Al Gore said on Thursday.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2012/nov/16/
nuclear-waste-sellafield How much do we spend on nuclear waste? Duncan Clark guardian.co.uk, 16 November 2012 Last week, a new report by the National Audit Office (NAO)highlighted the spiralling costs of running Sellafield, the UK’s huge nuclear
–The Next Fukushima is Ready & Waiting. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V1SUCTqlw6Q&feature=player_embedded#t=88s Nov 15, 2012 Kevin Kamps, Beyond Nuclear, joins Thom Hartmann. You would think Japan would do everything it could to avoid another nuclear disaster – but you’d be wrong. What’s the latest news coming out of Japan right now – and has America learned anything from the Fukushima devastation?
Newspaper: “Disturbing risks” have emerged at NJ’s Oyster Creek nuke plant after Sandy — Reactor may be decommissioned early November 16th, 2012 By ENENews 
Title: Reactor requires objective review 
The initiative, if passed by the people in a nationwide vote, would require the closing of Beznau I, Switzerland’s oldest nuclear power plant, within one year of the vote.
Public set to vote on phasing out nuclear power, SwissInfo.ch, 16 Nov 12, Members of the Green Party deliver signatures for the initiative to phase out atomic energy (Keystone) The Green Party has collected 109,000 signatures in support of a people’s initiative that would require caps on the lifetimes of existing nuclear power plants in Switzerland and a ban on the construction of new ones. Continue reading 
nuclear-news 